Here's a Gift From Ed Burns to You--An Exclusive Clip of His New Movie Newlyweds and Lots of Scoop on Love and Marriage

Ed Burns is one of those filmmakers you love because he makes movies about people and situations that everyone can relate to. They're always about real people with real problems having real conversations. It's an art he's mastered since some of his early (now classic) movies like She's the One and The Brothers McMullen. So his new film called Newlyweds is no different.

It stars Ed as part of a newlywed couple whose honeymoon period comes to halt because of drama from their respective siblings. As a newlywed myself, I was particularly excited to chat with Ed on the topic. He hasn't been a newlywed since he wed model Christy Turlington in 2003 but he was open about his thoughts on marriage, keeping his public relationship out of the spotlight and the influence Christy has on all his films. Plus he gave us an exclusive clip from the movie just for you! I've always had a tiny crush on Ed but after talking to him, it's totally grown. Hope that Christy Turlington (and my husband) doesn't mind!

__Glamour: How did the idea for a movie about newlyweds and marriage come about?

Ed Burns__: When I was doing the research for the script, everyone I know I would ask, When you first got married, what was the first or toughest challenge you first hit?' And nine out of ten people mentioned something to do with their spouse's family. You know, All of the sudden we had to move in with my mother in law.' Or, Oh his brother showed up to stay for the weekend and didn't leave for a month.' Or, My sister was going through a divorce and was at our apartment all the time with her negative energy.' It was easy to come up with a lot of great scenarios with everything I heard.

__Glamour: What's the biggest challenge about being a newlywed that the movie explores?

EB:__The little white lies we tell each other and those lies of omission and those little things that really don't seem like that big of a deal like that aside comment you might make. Those little things when stacked on top of each other take on greater weight. Also the sense with marriage that everyone thinks, Okay, we're a couple now and we are going to be completely honest with each other and I can trust my spouse with everything.' And I showed that's very hard to do. It's very hard to be completely honest all the time. Sometime you have to tell that little white lie in order to protect your wife from your sister or protect your bother-in-law from your wife depending on these different allegiances you have with folks in your life.

__Glamour: Did you draw from your own marriage and time as newlyweds too?

EB:__No, not really. The inspiration for the movie came at a 10th wedding anniversary party that my wife and I were at. Someone made a toast and said, Hey, if this thing ended today, in this day and age, you could probably call it a success.' We all kinda laughed and said while that's very true it was also kind of tragic. And so I was like, Okay, what is it about marriage today that you could walk away after 10 years and call it a success?' Then I met a couple that was on their second marriage and they were bragging to me that this one was guaranteed to work because they had learned all the mistakes they weren't going to make from the first marriage. And the guy made a crack that he works nights and she works days so they were never going to see each other. I was like all right - that's a great line - and that will be the basis for a couple in the movie.

__Glamour: So there is nothing from your own life and family?

EB:__ I'm smart enough never to draw from my own life and experiences. God forbid any of these scenarios happened in my life, I don't think that my brother and sister in law, my in-laws, and whomever would appreciate it. It's better to pull from your outer ring of acquaintances.

__Glamour: What about someone like Kim Kardashian who got a lot of heat for ending her marriage in 72 days this year—do tabloid stories like that inspire your scripts?

EB:__ I fly enough that's there is no way to avoid what's happening on the cover of those celebrity magazines. I was certainly aware of the Kardashian situation but I wouldn't say I follow it to where it's ever entering my mind when I'm sitting down and writing.

__Glamour: How do you and your wife manage to live public lives yet keep your relationship so private?

EB:__ We've been smart about that. One is living in New York City is different than living in L.A. People leave you alone here in a different way. We don't ever really get hassled. The other thing is we don't really go out to the events that might draw attention to a couple. We've never been to a movie premiere together other than one or two of my movies. We don't go to those functions so that's an easy way to stay out of those situations. Avoid the spotlight and it won't find you.

__Glamour: Do you get Christy's input on your scripts while you're working on them?

EB:__ I asked Christy early on to please read the female characters in the Newlyweds and let me know if I was full of sh** or not. I wanted to know if a woman would speak or feel certain ways--especially with newlyweds and especially with the sisters that are at the core of this film. Christy has two sisters so it was good to just pick her brain about that relationship.

__Glamour: This movie is set in New York City like most of your films—what's the allure?

EB: __I've always said that New York is the best co-star any actor could have. I have found in my last 10 films now that the city inspires but it also looks great from high end Manhattan to working class Queens. I'm always able to find great, authentic locations. I've lived in Tribeca for 11 years now so I decided to make *Newlyweds *a little bit of a love letter to the neighborhood I know so intimately.

__Glamour: Thank you for chatting with us so soon before the holidays! What are your plans or will you just be promoting Newlyweds?

EB:__ Trying to do both and both may be suffering. Got a ton of shopping I still have to do and finishing that up today. This year I'm just going to stay with family, go out to Long Island and keep it pretty mellow. My wife and I both had a pretty crazy year so we decided to just have a nice quiet holiday.

And now, for an exclusive peek at Newlyweds. Here's what Ed has to say about the scene you're about to see, "The character I play is now in the uncomfortable position of having his younger sister (Kerry Bish?�), who is staying with him, complain about his wife. He's trying to manage the situation, with little success."